Morse

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. My friend Bruce Morrissey of smuggsphoto.com, not unsurprisingly, knows where and how to get the money shots. For many years he’s been taking photos & videos of families on the mountain and around the Resort, in Winter and in Summer. Today, we shot video of me skiing as the Friendly Pirate on Morse and Morse Highlands. This footage will be used to promote skiing to kids. When we finished filming we took Midway to Madonna for a fun run: Upper Chilcoot > Catwalk > Lower Catwalk > Lower Drifter > Red Fox Glades > Mulcahy’s Link > Lower FIS. Along the way Bruce snapped this photo of yours truly in action. Whether there were photos or not, it was a sunny day and I couldn’t miss this opportunity.

Today was another beautiful day with sunny skies and a high of 22 degrees. I was on Morse Mountain today and it brought back so many great memories. I remember when I was learning how to ski here at Smuggs. Starting off on the lower mountain as a beginner and working my way to the top of Morse. Fine tuning my skills on Snow Snake and Upper Morse Liftline. More great memories were made today too as I watched my 3 year old daughter ski down from the top of Morse to the Cookie Race. It’s great watching her enjoy what I love so much! We have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 76 out of 78 trails open. All 8 lifts will be operating on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. 31 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Drifter, Lower Black Bear, and Snow Snake for a grand total of 166 acres. All 6 Terrain Parks are open. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for increasing clouds with a chance of flurries in the afternoon and a high of 33 degrees.

Molly explains to me that the trail is wide enough for a Princess and her retinue.

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. Hark ye! Today, I had the privilege of skiing with Long Island Royalty. Princess Molly of Mandalay, along with her mother Michele and her grandpa Bob, ruled the slopes. The young Princess was fearless in the woods and on the groomers, as she inspected her beloved Sterling and Morse Mountains. Over a repaste in the Black Bear, the Mandalayan Royal Court decreed that the day was a smashing success (without the smashing, of course).

Later this week, she’ll summon Dame Diane Oustinoff and Larry “her knight in shining” Arnold for further tutelage. Dame Diane and Sir Larry are esteemed members of the University von Snow Sport. Skiing with 3 generations of the Princess’s family was a crowning achievement for moi!

We received 10 inches of new snow in the past week and 102 inches this season so far. Our snowmakers have been working around the clock at the Morse Highlands area and Morse Mountain recently. The photo on the left shows the amount of snow our snowmakers can make in just one night with the right conditions. Our snowmakers made tons of snow on Log Jam which was groomed out today and we plan to open the Log Jam Terrain Park soon. Our snowmakers have moved up to Sterling Mountain for tonight. We are presently making snow on Upper Pipeline, Hangman’s Drop, Bootlegger, the Zone, Lower Rumrunner, and Lower Exhibition. The perfect snowmaking temperatures will allow us to open more trails this week. We have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift. We have 64 trails open with fantastic conditions. On the grooming list tonight is 30 trails, including Upper FIS, Thomke’s Express, and Snow Snake. A grand total of 164 of freshly groomed terrain. Tomorrow’s forecast is partly sunny skies with temperatures in the 20’s. The forecast for Thursday night and Friday is snow, 3 inches of accumulation possible.

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. We’ve been making snow around the clock and temps look good for continued snowmaking throughout the week. Last night it was Lower Madonna, today it is Morse (pictured here) and tomorrow it will be Sterling. More trails will open soon. To commemorate this flurry of flurries, I have fashioned this verse:

The Smugglers’ Notch Extreme Skiing Challenge was just amazing today! It was a beautiful sunny day and we had a great turn out. This year’s competition had more age brackets with 10 and under, 11 to 13, 14 to 18, 19 to 44, and 45 plus. Pictured here is Pete Kochalka competing in the 45 plus category and ripping it up! There’s a reason why they call it the Extreme Skiing Challenge and Upper Madonna Liftline has some of the gnarliest lift serviced terrain in the east! This is a fantastic event that really showcases what Smuggs has to offer. Smuggs is of course known as “America’s Family Resort” and people think of Mogul Mouse, Billy Bob Bear’s Cave, the World Famous Cookie Race, Sir Henry’s Learning and Fun Park, the Burton Riglet Park, Log Jam Terrain Park, Father Winter’s Tee Pee, and many more things found on Morse Mountain. One of the great things about Smuggs is the diversity of terrain that we have on our 3 mountains. If you enjoy long groomed intermediate cruisers with awesome views we have that. If you are an expert who enjoys steeps, glades, and moguls we have that also. This event highlights the Headwall’s toughness with its double fall line, steep pitch, rocks, and changing conditions.

A huge thank you goes out to the people who made this event happen. The driving force has been the members of the Smugglers’ Notch Ski and Snowboard Club, the SNSC Freeski Team, Andrew Snow, Matteo Campbell, and Bryan Salatino. The Smuggles’ Notch Ski Patrol also worked hard with side stepping the trail days before the event, prepping the Upper Madonna Liftline and most important was their presence at the competition.

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. PK is Paul Kayhart, Smuggs Nordic Director. 5K is 3.something miles. OK is an American expression popular around the world. Anywho, this past Saturday the Nordic Center hosted PK’s 5K Ramble, a non-competitive jaunt on our cross country trails.This event was part of the Heritage WinterFest presented by the Smugglers’ Notch Area Chamber of Commerce. PK, like his predecessor Zeke Zucker, is passionate about cross country skiing. In an effort to introduce more people to the sport, PK convinced the Resort to offer FREE rentals and trail passes. Local dignitaries Mike Moser of the Cambridge Planning Commission and Lynn Saywer of the Cambridge Historical Society took advantage of the offer. Mike and PK (pictured) got out their wooden skis, wouldn’t ya know.

“Well OK then, that was a couple of days ago, what about today Rockin’?” you ask. Twas a bluebird beauty of a day and I skied like I had wings. I made my maiden flight of the season to Morse Highlands. I took the cut-over trail from Lower Morse Liftline right below where Sam’s Run enters (how come I never noticed that trail before?).Then I did my first fly-by of the season on Snow Snake. I never get tired of that trail. It has some nice pitches, rolls, and turns. That’s where I take my friends on Morse, before we migrate to Madonna and Sterling. I gotta migrate outta here… catch ya on the fly.

Today was a great day on the mountain. It started with the Cat Trax Express, our 12 passenger heated cabin snowcat that brings you to the top of Madonna Mountain on Saturdays for first tracks. The Cat Trax Express also does fireworks tours and early evening tours. We had a fantastic time this morning getting first tracks in the early morning light.

I finished the morning report and then met up with my family to do some runs on Morse. We were riding the kid friendly Mogul Mouse Magical Lift to mid station. King Billy Bob’s Den was open on the Magic Learning Trail. The kids just love going though the tunnel. We ran into some great family friends at mid station and did a few runs with them. The kids then decided that it would be a great idea to visit Father Winter. Father Winter is in the teepee between Lower Morse Liftline and the Magic Learning Trail on Saturdays and Wednesdays. He has a wood fire going with a pot of hot cider that kids pictured here really enjoy on a chilly winter day. It’s always a fun educational experience when we visit Father Winter.

I was delivering the snow report in the Village this morning. I was walking by the gazebo when I noticed the snowmaking whale at the base of Morse. Snow Sport University classes were meeting and getting ready to hit the slopes. A few of the SSU instructors and students could not resist the temptation and had to slide down the whale. I don’t blame them one bit. I’m a big kid who loves to play in the snow too!

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Hugh Johnson

Hello skiers and riders! Thanks for checking out my blog. I've been skiing Smuggs since I was a young 'un, when my family moved to Vermont and made the resort a temporary home base. Full circle — now I'm introducing my own family to the mountain! Each day you'll find an entry and photo on mountain conditions and happenings, highlighting the great terrain we have spread over three mountains and the awesome adventures that skiers and riders of all ages can have out there! You'll also hear from Rockin' Ron Carter a couple days during the week. Maybe you'll spot him on his favorite run — Pirate's Plank on Sterling Mountain. We'll be out there on the slopes, and hope to see you — thanks for skiing and riding Smuggs!